


ily derek

by elsiephoenix



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Happy Derek, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-14
Packaged: 2018-02-17 08:37:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2303489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elsiephoenix/pseuds/elsiephoenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nothing like someone risking their life for you to make you angry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	ily derek

**Author's Note:**

> Whoo! My first fic on AO3! I've been sitting on this for weeks, but I finally polished it off and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. Enjoy!

It had happened because Derek had almost gotten himself killed again, earlier that evening. He had put himself in danger to protect Stiles, of course. But _that_ had happened because Stiles was putting himself in danger for Derek.

 

°°°

 

 _Nothing like someone risking their life for you to make you angry_ , thought Derek bitterly. He was listening to Stiles yell at him, something along the lines of self-preservation instincts, and—

 

“—haven’t you got any? Does your life not mean a single fucking thing to you? I went out there tonight on my own precisely because I can’t trust you to keep yourself safe!”

 

 _Now, hang on. What about the part where_ you _willingly walked into a perilous situation?_ Derek wanted to demand of Stiles. But the teenager barreled on, not giving Derek the chance to speak.

 

“We have a good thing going, here,” Stiles viciously counted off his fingers: “No Nemeton, no Hunters, no evil fox spirits, and most importantly: we actually all get along! If you don’t care about your own continued exsistence, will you at least stop for a second to think about the rest of us?”

 

Stiles stopped to take a breath, but Derek inturrupted his tirade.

 

“You are the _only_ thing I think about. When I’m not busy saving your sorry ass, I’m constantly left wondering what you’ll get youself into next, and any time I have left after that, I’m with you trying to figure out how to save someone else!”

 

“But that doesn’t mean you have the right to kill yourself in the process, Derek!”

 

“You think I have time to evaluate every possible threat in a crisis? You kids throw yourselves in front of supernatural trains, always believing you’ll be able to jump off the tracks in time. But you can’t. You can’t jump off the tracks in time and the only way I can keep you from getting run over is to jump in front of that train myself and push you with all my strength.” Derek stopped, chest heaving. Stiles stared like he had something on his face.

 

“It’s not like I enjoy it,” Derek continued. “But do you know what the worst is? It’s when you climb up off the ground, back onto the tracks, and try to save me. Even when you know you can’t, Stiles, even when you know there’s no chance you’ll survive without me.”

 

Derek locked eyes with Stiles, let a brittle silence fall over the room. Only after a long while, when his heart stopped pulsing so fiercely through his body, did he speak.

 

“Why?”

 

His voice was little more than a croak, and he could feel his throat closing up.

 

“Why would you do that, Stiles?”

 

Derek heard Stiles’ rattling intake of breath, heard the hitch in his heartbeat when Derek said his name. A moment before Stiles parted his lips to speak, Derek was overwhelmed by an incredible smell, one he hadn’t known for years. It was almost like—

 

“Love,” Stiles blurted. “I love you, that’s why.”

 

°°°

 

Stiles’ eyes widened as if he was surprised by his own declaration. Derek could only stare as the word echoed around his skull.

 

 _Love_ , he thought. _When was the last time that was directed at me?_

 

Derek cleared his throat. "So, uh, do you mean the _‘we're Pack and mostly friends’_ kind of—um. O-or the other kind?" He raised his brows emphatically. Stiles's blinked once, slowly. Then a second and a third time.

 

"The second one." He let out a breathy laugh and finally diverted his gaze from Derek's. His cheeks darkened as he repeated himself. "Definitely the second one."

 

Any residual negative feelings Derek had from the argument had been banished by a faint sense of astonishment. _Amazing_ , he thought detachedly, _how one's mood can change so rapidly_.

 

He stared at Stiles, wondering what the boy could possibly see in him. He knew, objectively, that he was attractive enough. He was by no means unintelligent. As an Alpha, he was definitely powerful. Derek would understand if these things, superficial as they were, caused an impressionable teen to crush on him. But no. He inhaled deeply. What he smelled on Stiles, buried under the adrenaline and fear of their most recent ordeal, was indeed love.

 

"Um, dude," Stiles' voice jerked Derek out of his thoughts. "You're wolfing out."

 

°°°

 

Derek would be surprised that he had lost control if he didn't feel so completely content. No. Not quite content. It was more of a feeling of being settled, as if the last puzzle piece had just been slotted into place. It was a little bit of satisfaction; "There, it's done, now I can relax." A newfound ease, perhaps, at a stress being lifted from his shoulders. A sense of finally, finally being able to let go of his worries. Like he didn't need to control his borders so tightly anymore, like he could let himself run free.

 

"Are you angry?" Stiles stank of apprehension, but not of fear. Not anymore.

 

And, Derek realized, just like Stiles was no longer afraid, Derek was no longer angry. He had had his revenge. He had built himself a Pack and a home. He had a territory to protect and people he cared for. Somebody loved him. 

That was definitely worth losing his anchor for.

 

Derek smiled as he said, "No, Stiles, I'm not angry. Not one bit."

 

°°°

 

It seemed obvious, in retrospect, that that’s how it would turn out. There are only so many ways to save somebody before one realizes they do it for themselves, just a little bit. And perhaps then they could save each other in the simplest way, by sharing a meal.

Derek didn’t quite know if he would go so far as to say he loved Stiles, but he was certain that he would do anything to save the younger man, and he knew that Stiles would do the same for him. If it wasn’t yet love, well, take-out and a tentative kiss were a good place to start.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm elsie-phoenix on tumblr, come say hi :)


End file.
